Category: Information Technology

Security: People are always the weakest link…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Education, Information Technology, Privacy and Surveillance, Public safety, Security, social media

The Badger tried to suppress a giggle when the accidental inclusion of a journalist in the US administration’s Signal group chat hit the media. He failed. On watching the US President on television call the journalist in question a ‘sleazebag’, the Badger laughed aloud as the proverbial idiom ‘pot calling the kettle black’ came to mind. The administration’s subsequent bluster about the journalist’s inclusion and the group’s messages has not been its finest hour. Asserting that the military attack information shared was unclassified is, for most independent observers, just ludicrous. Indeed, the whole episode raises many questions, not least being whether the administration’s senior echelons actually respect and adhere to standard security policies and protocols.

Signature of the UK Official Secrets Act and being thoroughly vetted for a high level of security clearance were pre-requisites for the Badger’s first IT projects. Security has thus been an embedded ethos throughout his working life. Sometimes the constraints imposed by security policy and associated processes were frustrating, but the Badger has learned that a cavalier approach to compliance is never a good idea. Rightly, clients and his employer had zero-tolerance for any kind of security misdemeanour. Indeed, on the rare occasions over the years when a security mishap occurred, the situation was quickly rectified and the culprit dealt with swiftly and definitively. Something similar may be happening behind the scenes following the Signal incident, but the US administration’s public messaging doesn’t imply this to be the case.

Later in his career, the Badger was asked to oversee the operations of his employer’s security department. The head of the department expanded the Badger’s appreciation of security matters pertinent to premises, personal safety, vetting, and cyber threats. The department head emphasised the need to keep in mind just one phrase, namely ‘people are always the weakest link‘, when it came to security doctrine. This has proved to be wise advice over the years, and the recent Signal incident simply reinforces the point.

Today, the use of Signal, WhatsApp, X, and social media platforms is rife in the general public and in political and governmental circles. The Signal incident is a reminder for us all that it takes just one participant to leak the substance of a group chat for there to be a problem, and that there’s a greater chance that someone will spill the beans beyond the group when it has a large number of participants. The incident is also a reminder to think carefully about what you write in a group chat. If you don’t then you only have yourself to blame if something you have written comes back to bite you in the future. Think before you write, always, but most of all remember that technology is not normally the weakest link, people are. That’s right…you and me!

Have Millennials benefited from being the first real ‘digital native’ generation?

Posted on by The Information Badger in Change, Digital Transformation, Human Resources, Information Technology, Life, Technology, Wellbeing

Millennials are the first ‘digital native’ generation. They’ve grown up with the internet, mobile telephony, and instant information at their fingertips. The digital world of the 1980s and 1990s, when Millennials were born, laid the foundation for today’s advanced capabilities. As Millennials have moved from childhood to adulthood and parenthood,  and from education to employment and family responsibilities, they’ve embraced the relentless wave of digital advances and made them part of their life’s ecosystem. A quick recap of the tech in the 1980s and 1990s illustrates the scale of the digital revolution they have embraced.

The 1980s saw the rise of PCs like the IBM PC, Apple II, and Commodore 64. All had limited processing power. MS-DOS was the popular operating system, hard drives were a few tens of megabytes, and 1.44MB  floppy discs were the common removable storage medium. Software had largely text-based user interfaces and WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3 dominated word processing and spreadsheets, respectively. Local Area Networks (LANs) started appearing to connect computers within an organisation, and modems provided dial-up internet access at a maximum rate of 2400 bits/second.

The 1990s saw PCs become more powerful. Windows became a popular operating system making software more user-friendly and feature rich, and Microsoft Office gained traction. CD-ROMs arrived providing 700MB of storage to replace floppy discs, hard drive capacities expanded to several gigabytes, and gaming and multimedia capabilities revolutionized entertainment. Ethernet became standard, computer networks expanded, the World Wide Web, email, and search engines gained traction, and mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) like Palm Pilot emerged.

Today everything’s exponentially more functionally rich, powerful, and globally connected with lightning-fast fibre-optic and 5G internet connectivity. Cloud computing provides scalable convenience, computing devices are smaller, data storage comes with capacities in the terabyte and petabyte range, and social media, global video conferencing, high-definition multimedia, and gaming is standard. Smartphones are universal, fit in your pocket, have combined the functions of many devices into one, and have processing powers that far exceed those of computers that filled entire rooms in the 1980s and 90s.

But has the Millennial generation benefited from being the first real ‘digital native’ generation? Yes, and no. This generation has faced significant hurdles affecting their earning potential, wealth accumulation, and career opportunities. Student loan debt, rising housing costs, rising taxes, the 2008 global financial crisis and its aftermath, the COVID-19 pandemic, soaring energy costs, and now perhaps tariff wars are just some of these hurdles. When chatting recently to a Millennial group asserting that their generation’s woes were caused by technology, the Badger pointed out first that these hurdles were not the fault of technology, but of ‘people in powerful positions’, and secondly that they should note Forrest Gump’s line ‘Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get’. Whatever you get, you have to deal with…and that’s the same for every generation.

Getting an IT job if you have Asperger Syndrome…

Posted on by The Information Badger in autism, Human Resources, Information Technology, Leadership & Management, Psychology, Recruitment, Training

Everyone has unconscious bias because it’s an inherent part of how our brain works. Unconscious bias stems from our brain’s natural tendency to categorize and make quick decisions based on our experiences, culture, and upbringing. Mature companies know about unconscious bias and draw attention to it in their staff training programmes, especially those relating to the interviewing, management, and leadership of people. They know that awareness of unconscious bias is important to ensuring that individuals make good, properly objective, decisions. Unconscious bias often raises its head during the interviewing and recruitment of new staff, but most companies emphasise their fair treatment of people with a disability during these processes. But is that actually the reality?

The son of one of the Badger’s long-standing friends was made redundant 8 months ago and they are still working hard to find new employment. They have Asperger Syndrome, a development disorder considered to be on the mild end of the autism spectrum. Before redundancy, they worked for more than a decade at their employer’s data centre as a software developer, technical whiz, and go-to technical problem-solver. They were made redundant as a result of a takeover by a bigger company. This led to the closure of the data centre which was on a small business park now to be developed for housing. What’s made the Badger’s nose twitch is the difficulty that someone with Asperger’s, excellent IT skills, a good work record, great experience, and a strong desire to continue working is having because, as they describe it, ‘I never seem to get through the front-end recruitment processes to talk to anyone who can appreciate my IT technical skills and experience’.

One of many powerful points in last year’s Buckland Review of Autism Employment  is ‘Despite their wish to work, the latest official statistics show that only around 3 in 10 working age autistic disabled people are in employment, compared with 5 in 10 for all disabled people and 8 in 10 for non-disabled people’. Unless you are Elon Musk, who revealed in 2021 that he has Asperger Syndrome, the odds of getting employed when you have the condition are not high. Unconscious bias in companies or individuals will never be fully eradicated, but the Badger senses that there’s something in modern recruitment processes that don’t give those with Asperger a proper chance. For all the positive messaging from companies about diversity and fairness, the reality seems different.

Today’s world needs those with proven IT skills and a strong work ethic whether they have Asperger’s or not. Something seems amiss, and the Badger has the words uttered by a speaker at a training course he attended many years ago rattling around in his mind, namely ‘A disability isn’t a barrier to working, discrimination is’. The words seem as true today as they were then.

‘Crash, Bang, wallop’ and the need for more Defence spending…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Defence, Information Technology, Innovation, Public safety, Security, Technology

The Badger’s first projects on joining the IT industry involved software and systems design, development, and delivery in the UK Defence sector. The experience provided an excellent foundation on which to build a wider IT career. Problem-solving using innovative software and hardware to provide operational capabilities, working with military people who were focused on getting the job done to rigorous standards, and ensuring deliverables met strict requirements, proved invaluable in cementing the right mindset for success. The military people the Badger encountered were well-trained, capable, and passionate about having operational capabilities that were effective against potential aggressors. Indeed, employers like the Badger’s recruited many of them at the end of their military service because their discipline, professionalism, work ethic, teamwork, and leadership skills were useful beyond just work in the Defence sector.

This was, of course, some decades ago when UK Defence spending was at a level before progressive reductions due to the so-called ‘peace dividend’. Today the UK spends ~2,~3.5, and ~5 times more on Education, NHS, and Welfare Benefits, respectively, than it does on Defence. The Badger’s felt for some time that Defence expenditure must rise, especially as security and defence today relies more than ever on fast-changing, digital information, command, control, communication, and unmanned weapons, as well as the brave soldiers, sailors and airmen who put themselves in harm’s way.

Which brings the Badger to something he does grudgingly, and that’s to thank the President of the USA for demanding NATO countries increase their Defence spending! The Badger’s not a warmonger. He just believes that it’s obvious that increasing UK Defence spending is long overdue. An increase can only be good for the UK’s economy and growing our own truly indigenous digital tech capabilities. Raising Defence spending will create more  high-value tech jobs, boost our natural flair for innovation, and help us hold our own in a fractious, tech-dominated world. That, however, is the limit of thanks to the USA’s democratically elected President and administration.

The Badger was creating a playlist of novelty songs when he saw the public berating and ejection from the White House of  Ukraine’s President on television. Having added ‘Crash, Bang, wallop, what a picture’  and  ‘Hole in the Ground’  to the playlist, the Badger immediately sensed that both had relevance to what he’d seen. The USA administration’s bullying of Ukraine, its coveting of Canada and Greenland, and its crass comments about the warfare experience of its allies, adds weight to why UK Defence expenditure must rise. For the average person in the street this side of the Atlantic, trust is hard-earned, easily lost, and hard to re-establish. Trust that the USA is a reliable ally is rapidly evaporating. More strained relationships with those embarked on a particular style of Making America Great Again looks inevitable, but that’s nothing to fear because history shows we are resilient in the face of adversity.

An inspiring, impressive, and heartwarming moment…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Education, Information Technology, Learning, Software, Training

Take a moment. Think about the most inspiring, impressive, and heart-warming moments that you’ve experienced during your career. Does one immediately come to the fore more than others? The Badger’s experienced many inspiring and impressive moments over the decades, but far fewer that were inspiring, impressive AND heart-warming! The one moment that is always the first  comes to mind meeting these three criteria was the witnessing of a speaker at a technical conference overcome their stage-fright and public-speaking demons to receive a standing ovation from the audience.

The young Badger had attended the conference, about novel software design practices, to give one of many twenty-minute presentations to the ~350-person audience from across industry. His presentation went well, ostensibly because he was well prepared and had lots of previous public-speaking experience from presenting at large conferences during his academic days. On returning to his seat afterwards, the Badger felt that usual human reaction of being both pleased and relieved! The next presenter was another youngster. As they took to the stage and walked to the lectern, their hands were visibly shaking, but what unfolded was more than just the initial nerves most people experience in such situations. What unfolded was, in its own way, awesomely inspiring, impressive, and heartwarming!

The speaker introduced themselves. Thereafter their body perpetually quivered, their voice trembled and incessantly faltered, and their presentation delivery fragmented with long pauses between sentences and often between individual words. It was obvious that the audience found the situation uncomfortable, and after ten minutes one of the conference organisers approached and quietly asked if the speaker was okay and would like to end their presentation immediately. The speaker insisted on carrying on and did so overrunning their allotted time by 50%. On closing their presentation, they apologised to the audience for their nervousness, thanked the audience for their patience and understanding given that they had never presented to so many people before! As they left the stage the whole audience gave them a standing ovation.

The speaker’s dogged determination to complete their presentation in the face of their inexperience and rampant nervousness was inspiring. The fact, as the Badger learned talking to them afterwards, that they had consciously put themselves in that uncomfortable situation because ‘it was necessary’ in order to improve and have a good career, was impressive. The audience standing ovation was heartwarming because it demonstrated our inherent human empathy and respect for ‘those that try’. For the Badger, the moment also highlights that we all have weaknesses and that facing up to them by doing the right thing with dogged determination, and resilience in the face of personal discomfort, builds respect and demonstrates the ‘right stuff’ required to be successful. What happened to the speaker? They ultimately became a senior executive at an international corporation, and a much sought after keynote speaker at international conferences!

When there’s a new sheriff in town…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Change, Human Resources, Information Technology, IT Project Management, Leadership & Management, Training

‘The lunatics have taken over the asylum’. No, that’s not a jab at the world’s leaders, often hyper-wealthy and drunk on power and their own egos, it’s what a young Badger thought many years ago when his employer appointed a new Chief Executive from outside the company. Soon after their arrival, the new CEO appointed more outsiders to  key leadership roles. Unsurprisingly, most of them had worked for the CEO before. The workforce quickly grasped that the ‘new sheriff in town’ and their ‘deputies’ were intent on rapidly and ruthlessly making their mark.

At the time, the Badger was leading his very first systems/software development project. The rationale for the rapid changes made by the new CEO seemed unfathomable to someone who was completely focused on delivering his project. Looking back decades later, having accumulated wide-ranging business and delivery experience, it’s clear the company needed change to sharpen its commercial and financial focus. Indeed, the CEO changed it for the better in these respects, but to the detriment of a great embedded workforce culture that was exceptionally team oriented. Wariness and distrust of the new sheriff and their deputies spread through the company, especially when the scale of the salaries, bonuses, and share options being paid to the new leadership became public knowledge.

The Badger’s respected and long-standing line manager at the time supported the need for change. They were, however, vocal in their dissent about the new CEO’s approach and the chaos it caused. They confided to a number of direct reports, including the Badger, that they expected the new sheriff,  who was ruthlessly intolerant of anyone with the temerity to challenge the changes being promulgated, to exit them from the company. They were right. Within a few months, they left the company having signed a compromise agreement. On their last day at work, they gave the Badger two pieces of advice, namely, ‘When you deal with any CEO or senior executive consider them to be psychopaths until you’re sure they’re not’, and ‘Remember that any CEO or senior executive will be your friend, until it suits them not to be’. These struck a truthful chord which caused the young Badger to learn about the actual characteristics of a psychopath! (In simple terms these are summarized here, for example). Furthermore, these words of wisdom triggered the Badger to learn more about human behaviour and to use that learning to good effect throughout the rest of his own delivery and leadership career.

And that’s the key message from this item. If you have an opportunity to learn about the rudiments of human psychology, then take it and use what you learn when interacting with, and observing, others. His line-manager’s advice stood the Badger in good stead over the years. Keep it in mind, especially when there’s a ‘new sheriff’ with a new set of ‘deputies’ in town intent on change…

A vintage Fortran Source code listing…

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI, Automation, Change, Information Technology, Software

The Badger found an old paper Fortran source code listing, in good condition considering its age, at the back of a cupboard this week. It triggered memories of his programming activities early in his IT career. It also caused him to reflect on the changes there have been in IT as a result of the tremendous advances in digital technology, and the way we live and work, over the last 40 years. As illustrated below, this period has been one of continuous, rapid change.

In the 1980s, personal computers began to make their way into businesses and homes. The likes of IBM, Apple, and Microsoft introduced devices that revolutionized how people accessed information and performed tasks. The introduction of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) also made computers more user-friendly enabling a broader audience to embrace technology. The 1990s brought the birth and expansion of the internet, drastically changing communication, commerce, and entertainment. It brought a new level of connectivity and made information accessible globally at the click of a button. E-commerce giants like Amazon and eBay emerged, transforming the retail landscape and giving rise to online shopping.

The 2000s saw the rise of the mobile revolution. With the introduction of smartphones and tablets, technology became ever more integrated into our work and personal lives. Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android led the charge, creating app-driven ecosystems that allowed users to perform a myriad of tasks on-the-go. Mobile internet access became ubiquitous fostering a new era of social media, instant messaging, and mobile gaming. In the 2010s, Cloud Computing with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud brought scalable, on-demand, computing resources. This facilitated the rise of Software as a Service (SaaS) models which enable access to software applications via the internet and help businesses to reduce infrastructure costs and improve scalability.

In recent years, ‘Big Data’ has meant that organizations can leverage vast amounts of data to gain customer insights, optimize their operations, and make data-driven decisions. AI technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, are also rapidly being integrated into applications from healthcare and finance to autonomous vehicles and smart home devices. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote working and digital collaboration tools, and video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams have become essential communication and productivity tools.

Anyone working in the IT world over this period has had an exciting time! The Fortran listing reminded the Badger that it was produced when programming was a very human, hand-crafted activity. Source code today is produced differently, and AI will dominate programming in the future. The Badger’s career spanning all these changes  was challenging, exciting, creative, and one where dynamism, innovation, teamwork, hard work, and a ‘can do’ mentality were embedded workforce traits. Is that the case today? It has to be in a future which is dominated by AI.

AI – A Golden Age or a new Dark Age?

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI & Robotics, Automation, Change, Digital Transformation, Ethics & Regulation, Information Technology, Intelligent machines, Life, Risk, Technology

The Badger’s experimented with Microsoft’s Copilot for a while now, sometimes impressed, but often irritated when the tool ends its answer to a question by asking the user’s opinion on the underlying topic of the question. For example, the Badger asked Copilot ‘When will self-driving cars be the majority of vehicles in the UK?’  Copilot’s answer was sensible and distilled from quoted sources, but it ended with ‘What are your thoughts on self-driving cars? Do you think they’ll revolutionize transportation?’. The Badger wanted an answer to his question, not a conversation that will capture, store, and use his opinion for the tool’s own purpose. Responding with ‘None of your business’ gets the reply ‘Got it! If you have any other questions or need assistance with something else, feel free to ask. I’m here to help’. That last phrase should be supplemented with ‘and make money!

Overall, his experimentation has made him wonder if AI is leading to a new Golden Age for humanity, or a new Dark Age. So, what’s the answer? A new Golden Age, or a worrying Dark Age? AI and Machine Intelligence advocates, giant businesses investing huge amounts of money in the technology, and even governments with a ‘fear of missing out’, are quick to say it’s the former. The Nobel Laureate Geoffrey Hinton, the godfather of AI, isn’t so sure. He articulates the risks well, and he’s highlighted that the ability of AI to eventually wipe out humanity isn’t inconceivable. Listening to him interviewed recently on the Today programme, BBC Radio 4’s flagship news and current affairs programme, struck a chord. It made the Badger realise that such concerns are valid, and that a Dark Age is a possibility.

So where does the Badger stand on the Golden or Dark Age question? Well, the last 25 years has made us believe tech-driven change is a good thing, but that premise should be challenged. New technology may drive change, but it doesn’t necessarily drive progress because it’s politics that really determines whether change makes people better off overall. Politicians, however, have struggled woefully to deal with tech-driven change and the new problems it’s created for society so far this century. There’s little sign this is changing for AI. Humans are fallible and can make poor judgements, but if we become reliant on AI to make choices for us, then there’s a real danger that our confidence and capacity to make our own independent decisions will be lost.

The Badger’s answer is thus nuanced. A Golden Age will unfold in areas where AI is a tool providing a tangible benefit under direct human control, but if AI is allowed to become completely autonomous and more intelligent than humans, then a Dark Age is inevitable. Why? Because things with greater overall intelligence always control things of lower overall intelligence. Can you think of an example where the reverse is true?

Smart Meters…again…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Delivery, Energy and Energy Markets, Information Technology, Smart Meters, Transformation

The UK Smart Meter rollout programme missed its original completion date of 2019 and new arrangements were established for the rollout to get, as a minimum, a smart meter installed in 80% of UK homes by the end of December 2025. That number‘s still a long way short of the original 100% ambition, and it’s since been watered down to ~75%. The Government’s Smart Meter Statistics reports for Q3 2023 and Q3 2024 show the numbers stood at 59% and 65%, respectively. Not all installed meters are operating in ‘smart mode’ so, in reality, the numbers where smart mode is in operation are ~10% lower. However, regardless of how you look at the numbers, progress of 6% over a full year doesn’t provide any confidence that the end of 2025 minimum target will be met. Perhaps the next government report for Q4 2024 will paint a more positive picture? Unlikely.

The UK government and the enterprises delivering the programme are, no doubt, already discussing the consequences of falling short of 2025’s minimum target. Two things seem certain. Firstly, the rollout will continue for years beyond 2025, with some kind of reset dressed up by spin that covers some difficult realities. Secondly, the consumer will continue paying for the programme through their energy bills for a long time yet. Remember, the benefit to the consumer is miniscule compared to the benefit to the energy supply companies.

If the 6% rise in on-premises smart meters between Q3 2023 and Q3 2024 typifies  rollout progress for the coming years, you don’t have to be a genius to see that achieving 100% this decade is questionable. The programme’s cost ~£13.5bn, has been running for  >12 years, and there are millions of meters still not operating properly in homes. It’s supposedly a national infrastructure programme vital for modernising the UK energy system, improving energy security and resilience, and supporting net-zero greenhouse gas ambitions. Public scepticism, however, is unabated. Programmes of this ilk are, of course, always challenging, but many countries in Europe have already achieved or surpassed 80% penetration with their own smart meter rollouts and so something fundamental must explain why the UK’s programme consistently underperforms.

Smart meter obsolescence will require the replacement of many meters installed in homes in the coming years, and a communication upgrade is necessary to deal with the demise of 2G/3G communication networks. There doesn’t appear to be a forecast cost to complete the meter installations needed to achieve 100% penetration and these upgrade issues in the public domain yet. The Badger thus concludes that consumers will be footing the bill for years yet, and that it’s right to be sceptical about the ability to deliver any new national energy programmes to time, budget, quality, and tangible consumer benefit…  

Human Space travel to Mars? Just send Intelligent Machines…

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI & Robotics, Automation, Information Technology, Intelligent machines, Life, Space

‘Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission – to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before’.

In September 1966, these iconic words were heard for the first time when Star Trek arrived on television. They, in essence, remind us that the pursuit of knowledge and the exploration of the unknown are central to what it means to be human. They inspire us to dream big, embrace challenges, and continually seek to expand our understanding. The words were narrated before man landed on the moon, before the internet, before smartphones and laptops, and when the computing power available to astronauts was miniscule compared to that of a mid-range smartphone. Things have changed extraordinarily since 1966,  but the opening words to Star Trek episodes are just as relevant to what it means to be human today.

Space travel is difficult, as US billionaires will attest (see here and here, for example). Today’s Space-race is different to that of the 1960s with, for example, the likes of India and China part of the fray. Putting humans back on the Moon is a key objective, and the USA’s Artemis programme intends to do just that within the next few years, if things go to plan.  Putting human feet on Mars, as reaffirmed by the USA’s President Trump during his inauguration this week, is also an objective. The Badger, however, senses that it’s unlikely to happen for decades yet, if at all.

Why the scepticism? Well, two things. The first is that putting humans on Mars and bringing them back is much more challenging than returning to the Moon. The second thing is more fundamental. In the ~60 years since Star Trek’s iconic words were first heard, life and our knowledge of Space has been transformed through technological advances, especially in the sphere of capturing, processing, and using information digitally. Advances in digital technology continue apace with AI and intelligent machines fast becoming a reality. Indeed, Mr Trump has announced huge investment in Stargate, AI infrastructure.  The automation of everything with machines becoming as intelligent as humans begs a question, namely ‘Is prolonged human travel in Space really viable and economically sensible?’

The evidence implies that humans are unsuited to prolonged Space travel (e.g. see here and here). So why send humans to Mars when intelligent machines are a better option? Perhaps a rethink of putting humans on Mars will happen as AI and intelligent machines become mainstream, perhaps it won’t. Meantime the Badger wholly subscribes to the pursuit of knowledge and exploration of the unknown, but he will enjoy Star Trek for what it is, just imaginative  entertainment…